The challenges we face today are enormous: social, economic, environmental and political. No segment will be able to solve them by itself, making it mandatory that governments, companies and civil society act in the same direction.
NGOs play a decisive role in this process, as they essentially defend the common and non-profit interests. Many of the advances we have seen in human rights, freedom of expression, transparency, diversity, democracy and climate change have been contributed by civil society institutions.
Different types of organizations make up this cauldron of civil society, sometimes more effervescent, sometimes more lukewarm. Despite the variety of profiles and interests, these are spaces for aggregation and representation of social groups that are not in dispute over the control of the State —thus differentiating themselves from political parties—, therefore, from the nature of the democratic regime. that these voices are legitimate interlocutors for governments and political and legal institutions.
This relationship, however, is not always cordial, and the desires of each group find outlet where they find possibility. Whether in institutionalized spaces, such as councils, or in the public field, through the media or social networks, a more recent example. Even so, an extensive legacy of public policies over the last 40 years is indebted to the experiences and actions of Brazilian civil society organizations, in topics as diverse as our health system, programs for the urbanization of slums and precarious settlements, or even reduction policies. of violence —caused by people in conflict with the law or by the state itself.
The city of São Paulo expressly brings in its Organic Law the desire contained in the Constitution about the direct participation of the population in decision-making. Article 54 makes clear the role that citizenship plays in city government, and not just during the election period.
In response to the question “how to contribute to a more just and sustainable country?”, Rede Nossa São Paulo was created in 2007 with the purpose of supporting the reduction of inequality, facing climate change and improving democracy. The idea is that by transforming cities, the country will also change, since 85% of Brazilians live in urban areas. The challenge was great, to contribute to changes in the biggest, richest and most complex city in Brazil.
The institute appears with the belief that by generating an affirmative case it could inspire many other Brazilian cities. Our first provocation mobilized entities, artists and even sportsmen, who dialogued with the Executive and the City Council to bring about the first Goals Law in the country: the mayor’s obligation to present to society, 90 days after being elected, a tangible plan of what he will do in his four-year term, incorporating the program and campaign promises. It happened in São Paulo in 2008.
This rule changes the logic of the policy, as it allows the monitoring of actions year by year, involving society and promoting dialogue between social actors. Since then, it has been an inspiration for many other municipalities and, currently, 80 Brazilian cities have a law of goals approved, reaching more than 40 million people.
Another challenge that led to the creation of the Network was the confrontation of inequalities. Brazil is a country that knows how to generate wealth but does not know how to distribute it, and it is in a shameful position in the world: one of the ten richest, and one of the ten most unequal.
But how to act when inequality lands in cities? The response of Rede Nossa São Paulo was the creation of the Inequalities Map, which shows, for example, the difference of 23 years in the average age at death between a rich district and a poor one, within the same city. These and other indicators cause indignation and instigate the fight for greater investment in the most unequal places, giving rise to the proposal to expand the regionalization of the budget in the city, accompanied by the prioritization of resources for more vulnerable areas.
A public policy emerges, the so-called Regional Distribution Index of Municipal Public Expenditure, which will allocate R$ 5 billion to the 32 boroughs by 2025, based on criteria of social vulnerability, which means a quarter of the volume of investments in the city by then.
Another thematic map, that of Primeira Infância, shows that most of the 1.2 million children in São Paulo live in their most vulnerable districts, with precarious housing, insufficient sanitation and higher rates of violence. To reverse the cycle of maintenance of inequalities, the Municipal Plan for Early Childhood was created, unprecedented in Brazil. And investments were directed to the ten worst districts, with a focus on policies for citizens in the first years of life.
In 2021, the survey Living in São Paulo: Environment indicated that 59% of São Paulo residents relate environmental problems to the increase in cases of respiratory diseases, such as asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia. It is known that the fine particles that come from the burning of diesel in public transport are the main responsible for this evil and, together with other entities, the Network has engaged in the fight to reduce the time of renewal of the fleet’s engines in São Paulo. As a result, in the Climate Action Plan, the deadline for replacing engines in the city of São Paulo was reduced from 20 to 10 years, preventing around 50,000 deaths in this period.
In terms of improving democracy, the participation of society also plays a fundamental role. Working together with a network of entities led to the creation of Municipal Councils, the City Council, the ODS Commission and, now, the Council of Representatives linked to the legislature, still to be regulated.
But the dialogue between civil society and the government does not always evolve satisfactorily, resulting in empty participatory processes, collective decisions not implemented, or even legislation that is simply not complied with. Often the voices of civil society do not resonate in public management. There is much to improve in this dialogue and active and effective listening by the government is the first step towards promoting a truly democratic environment.
The city is still unequal, it has enormous climate and social control challenges. Public policies take time to be implemented, but the millions of people who have benefited from them so far are the pride of Instituto Cidades Sustentáveis, making its existence worthwhile. We will continue proposing, dialoguing, pressing and bothering: because our cause is the public interest, always believing in politics as a transforming force.
This Tuesday (24), the Network received the Silver Salva, the highest honor granted by the City Council to society entities. This award reaffirms democracy and has an even greater value for the critical role of the institute in relation to politics and, often, to this same Legislative House. We have acted with transparency and with the purpose of contributing to change.
A recognition received from those we often criticize only values the democratic game and encourages other advances in democracy. It is precisely because we are unable to dialogue with differences that we experience wars around the world and democratic setbacks in Brazil. The Chamber recognizes the Network and the Network reinforces that without politics and the improvement of democracy we will not be able to face our challenges. We reaffirm the policy.
Coincidentally, the institute is turning 15 this May. The synchronism of the 15 and public recognition encourages us to continue, analyzing and revealing data, translating them into accessible language, proposing the implementation of actions and fighting for public policies that scale the necessary changes in a city like São Paulo.
Many other NGOs have worked in the city and deserve recognition. In the meantime, we share this moment with all of them, certain that they are fundamental for us to advance in achievements to promote a better quality of life for the population, especially the most vulnerable.
